Hebrew word · H4245

מַחֲלָה

machalah

sickness

Sickness, disease, illness. It comes from the root ḥālāh, 'be weak, sick'. A related form appears in Exod 23:25 ('I will remove sickness from your midst') and 1 Kgs 8:37 // 2 Chr 6:28 (Solomon's prayer: 'whatever plague, whatever sickness').

Appears 6 times in 6 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

disease, sickness

Also means: ma.cha.leh (מַחֲלֶה "sickness" H4245A)

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Exodus 15:26

Range of meaning

Sickness, disease, illness. It comes from the root ḥālāh, 'be weak, sick'. A related form appears in Exod 23:25 ('I will remove sickness from your midst') and 1 Kgs 8:37 // 2 Chr 6:28 (Solomon's prayer: 'whatever plague, whatever sickness').

Against the English

English 'diseases' (plural) correctly renders a singular word used for the whole category. KJV's 'none of these diseases' adds a 'these' that is not in the Hebrew, though it does point back to Egypt's plagues correctly.

Used elsewhere in the period

Deut 7:15 expands the same promise: 'Yahweh will turn away from you every sickness, and all the evil diseases of Egypt which you knew he will not put on you.' Deut 28:27, 60 threatens the 'boils of Egypt' and 'all the diseases of Egypt' as curses for unfaithfulness. Treaty curses elsewhere in the ancient Near East likewise threaten disease from the gods, e.g., Esarhaddon's Succession Treaties (7th c. BC) invoke the moon-god Sin to 'clothe you with leprosy'.

From the study of Exodus 23:25

Range of meaning

Sickness, disease, from the root ḥalah, 'be weak, be sick'. It is rare: Exod 15:26; 23:25; 1 Kgs 8:37 // 2 Chr 6:28 (plague and sickness that strike the land); 2 Chr 21:15. Where it appears, it usually refers to illness affecting the community, such as epidemics, rather than one person's ailment.

Against the English

'Sickness' and 'illness' are accurate. No major English version distorts it.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exod 15:26: 'none of the diseases (maḥalah) that I put on the Egyptians... for I am Yahweh your healer'. Deut 7:15 expands this verse: 'Yahweh will remove from you all sickness, and none of the evil diseases of Egypt'. Ancient treaty curses (e.g. Esarhaddon's succession treaties) threaten disease from the gods on anyone disloyal.

Similar words

Where it appears

Exodus · 2

  1. Exodus 15:26 הַמַּֽחֲלָ֞ה <the> sickness

    saying, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His eyes, and pay attention to His commands, and keep all His statutes, then I will not bring on you any of the diseases I inflicted on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.”

    Here: Singular with the article but meant as a group: 'the whole category of sickness' Egypt suffered. English rightly renders it 'diseases'.

  2. Exodus 23:25 מַחֲלָ֖ה sickness

    So you shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take away sickness from among you.

    Here: A general word for illness, with no article: 'sickness' of any kind. It is rare, and an earlier use is Exod 15:26, where God promises not to put on Israel the diseases he put on Egypt.

1 Kings · 1

  1. 1 Kings 8:37 מַחֲלָֽה׃ sickness

    When famine or plague comes upon the land, or blight or mildew or locusts or grasshoppers, or when their enemy besieges them in their cities, whatever plague or sickness may come,

    Here: Illness or weakness of the body in general, from the verb 'to be weak, sick'. It echoes God's promise to keep 'sickness' from an obedient Israel (Exod 15:26; 23:25).

2 Chronicles · 2

  1. 2 Chronicles 6:28 מַחֲלָֽה׃ sickness

    When famine or plague comes upon the land, or blight or mildew or locusts or grasshoppers, or when their enemies besiege them in their cities, whatever plague or sickness may come,

    Here: Illness in general, the word used in Exodus 15:26 and 23:25 for the sickness God promises to keep from Israel.

  2. 2 Chronicles 21:15 בְּמַחֲלֵ֣ה in [the] sickness of

    And day after day you yourself will suffer from a severe illness, a disease of your bowels, until it causes your bowels to come out.’”

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 18:14 מַחֲלֵ֑הוּ sickness his

    The spirit of a man can endure his sickness, but who can survive a broken spirit?

    Here: 'His sickness': bodily illness or weakness, an affliction coming at the person from outside their inner self. It is the burden the spirit carries.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.